What VaultPress means to me

This morning I used the Golden Ticket I received from DreamHost to purchase the basic VaultPress plan.  Do a quick Google search if you don’t know what VaultPress is and what it does.

Initially when I first heard of VaultPress and later when I got my Golden Ticket, I didn’t want to spend an extra $15 a month on a backup service when I already backup my database and have old snapshots of my WP installation.  Why would I want to pay more money when I already pay that much for my DreamHost account?  I’m an impoverished grad student.  That $15 could go toward beer or food.

Finally it dawned on me what VaultPress really is.  It’s insurance.  Just like car insurance or renters insurance.  In fact, it’s better.  Were I to get in a car accident, I would have to pay a deductible before the insurance would start paying out.  With VaultPress, I only pay $15/month and have zero “deductible.”  If something happens to my WP install, a few mouse clicks and I can restore it to its proper condition.  And just like car insurance, there are several tiers of service.  If I had the money, I’d go for the $40/month “pro” plan for peace of mind.  It’s the same for my motorcycle insurance.  If I had the money, I’d pay the extra to have full coverage .

So when you get your Golden Ticket, don’t think of it as a backup service.  Think of it as insurance.

Goodbye Gallery2!

A little over a year ago I started using Gallery2 on my website to host photos. A few months after the initial adoption I discovered that Gallery2 is most definitely NOT cut out for any serious integration with WordPress. Or at least not with the WPG2 plugin and not while hosted on a standard account with DreamHost. Since the spring I have been working off and on to convert all of the posts using Gallery2 over to the built-in WordPress image management system. This evening I finally finished. I now am free of Gallery2. Forever!

Adventures in Vacuuming

Earlier this week I decided it was time to get a vacuum for my apartment. After looking into the cost of good vacuums I realized that it wasn’t that much more expensive to buy a Roomba. A MASSIVE Amazon.com box arrived on Wednesday containing my new Roomba 560. In short order I had it charged up and zipping around my apartment cleaning out the grime. Two days later and I have vacuumed my house probably ten times. It’s just TOO MUCH FUN watching it drive around! And my floors! They are so clean!

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